The move to this state of the art platform will enable CSCS to further align itself with global best practices and international standards, such as those outlined by the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures, being increasingly looked at by global investors and banks. Many of the PFMIs are directly applicable to CSDs.

BNP Paribas Securities Services became a directly connected participant in T2S (TARGET2-Securities) upon the launch of the harmonised European settlement platform in Italy on 31 August. Since then, the bank has successfully migrated over 60,000 positions onto the platform and settled nearly 500,000 transactions on it.

SIX Securities Services, Bank of Greece Securities Settlement System, Romania’s Depozitarul Central and the Malta Stock Exchange all went live on the ECB’s T2S (Target2-Securities) system on 22 June 2015. Monte Titoli, the Italian CSD and the largest originally included in Wave 1, opted at the last minute to postpone its migration due to concerns raised about the stability of the platform by some of its banks.

The Central Bank of Ireland has approved an Irish regulated UCITS fund, a sub-fund of the Arisaig Global Emerging Markets Consumer UCITS fund, to invest directly in China-A shares via the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme. HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Ireland) has been appointed as the custodian bank to the fund’s operations.

Holland Clearing House B.V. which was authorised under EMIR (the European Market Infrastructure Regulation) on 12 December 2014, is to be renamed ICE Clear Netherlands as of 27 July 2015. ICE acquired a majority stake in Holland Clearing House in December 2014, with ABN Amro acquiring a minority stake at the same time.